In a computer network, data is transmitted from a source to a destination in the form of packets that generally pass through one or more network devices (e.g., switches, routers, firewalls, etc.). Packet-switched networks can experience rapid bursts of data packets (i.e. microburst) sent in quick succession. Microbursts can lead to network problems such as overflowing packet buffers in network endpoints, routers, switches, etc. Microbursts can be very problematic in that they can lead to lost packets that do not get to their destination through the network and can cause a major impact on applications.
Monitoring of a buffer in a network device is useful to gain knowledge for network administration, analysis, and performance. Network administrators benefit from analyzing when and how microbursts occur with a network by allowing the administrators to better design the networks, allocate resources, etc. Software-based mechanisms have been employed to monitor packet counters to determine when microbursts occur. However, known software solutions are limited by their ability to detect very fine grain bursts in envelopes smaller than milliseconds. Additionally a network administrator needs to have advanced know-how to configure the software packages as well as to interpret the data. Furthermore, known hardware solutions merely record the data and the network administrators are required to interpret whether the data was indicative of a burst